Paying extra for phones in Bekasi

Paying extra for phones in Bekasi

JAKARTA (JP): Some prospective customers of the state-owned telecommunications company PT Telkom in the Bekasi area are disappointed upon finding out that to have their phone lines installed they have to give extra money to officials.

A resident of Taman Galaksi, a real estate complex in Bekasi, disclosed that an official of PT Telkom offered him assistance in having a telephone installed immediately in his house, provided he give the official between Rp 25,000 (US$11.35) and Rp 50,000, Antara reported.

The news agency also reported the company had promised an unidentified resident in Pekayon area, Bekasi, that his telephone would be operational in Dec. 1994, but the company later announced that the telephone would start functioning in January 1995. (mas)